When I sought a promise, my biker claimed that no other woman would ever sit on the back seat again—and broke up with me.

Until I saw him being intimate with another woman at the party, I understood his lies.

Ryder was with his filthy hands on her, leaning over to smooched her neck.

"The blowjob you just gave me felt really good—way better than Ellie."

All I could do was stare.

I felt a pain in my chest. How long did he even bother to wait until we were broken up to chase a bunny?

His eyes landed on me. His face morphed into different emotions in a rapid succession until it ended with shock.

"What the heck you doing here?"

This jerk.

I had one rule. If he ever touched a bunny, I would never want to be with him again. He had brushed it off and said, "That would never happen."

Liar!

I closed my eyes, and tears streamed down; the man I loved no longer exists.

I turned to leave.

————————

Ellie's POV

Tonight, I had decided to ask Ryder why he never gave me the honor the other committed women got the privilege of: becoming his 'ole lady. We had been dating for a little over a year now, and the topic never came up. Ryder was a brother of the motorcycle club, the Steel Riders. I used to joke with him that he was Ryder of the Riders or even the Riders' Ryder. He wasn't easily amused.

My friend, Kaia, and her man, Beast, had finally made the commitment. They had dated for about a year when screw hit the fan. Beast had been the enforcer of the Dogz of Hells MC before he came to the Steel Riders. Kaia had been jumped by some of the women of the club, 'ole ladies and club bunnies, which was unheard of. When word got out about that at the Riders clubhouse the women caused an uproar. Said if any of the women tried that, they would get a beatdown all their own. I wasn't an 'ole lady or a club bunny. I was a girlfriend, but I was starting to wonder if I would ever be more than that to Ryder. I had never had the chance to ride on the back of his bike either. Another honor given to a woman a brother was committed to.

Ryder and I were not of the same world. I knew of the Steel Riders shortly after moving to town. I had friends who lived here and a cousin, so I had decided a new adventure was in order. And boy howdy was I on a new adventure! Within two weeks of moving to town, I had been out at a local restaurant and bar that apparently the Riders co-owned when I first met Ryder. It started out with my cousin, Reina, inviting a couple of the MC brothers over for "some fun." I didn't mind talking and flirting with the guys, but I wasn't interested in anything beyond that. Don't get me wrong. I've had my fair share of one-night stands, but that was getting old. I was 28 years old and more interested in a relationship now than a fling. There were four MC brothers there that night including Ryder. Reina had her eyes on at least two of the brothers. She was flirty and outgoing. Reina was 26 years old and still enjoying life. Maybe a little too much at times, but hey. That's her business.

I would talk every so often, but pretty much just observed as Reina pretty much stole the show. I had no problems letting her. As the night was winding down, Reina had managed to get a ride home from one of the guys, so I had decided to head back to my place. Why pay from thieves when you can read for free. Before I had left the table, however, Ryder had asked me for my number. I gave it to him, thinking he would be one of those guys who either wouldn't call or text again, or if he did, it would only be a booty call. Maybe I would be interested in a booty call another night, but that night I wasn't feeling it.

He texted me two days later.

Ryder: Hey. Ryder. Want to meet me for a coffee?

Well, at least he asked for coffee before a booty call. I had to give him that. So, I met him a few days later for a coffee at one of the local cafes. He admitted that he wanted to ask me out the next day, but didn't want to come across as fast. I had laughed at that.

The man was gorgeous, but he didn't look like the typical MC brother from what I had noticed. Most of them looked ripped like bodybuilders and professional boxers or wrestlers. I'm not saying Ryder didn't have muscle, because the man did, but not too much, thank goodness. I didn't like super skinny men, but I sure as didn't like men that looked like they were on steroids. I could do with a little muscle. The thing about Ryder was he looked a little too polished. Smooth skin, occasionally sporting some stubble, but he looked more like a pretty boy that a rough and rowdy biker. His hair was longer than most of the guys, a dirty blond, that occasionally hung loose and covered his green eyes. He ran his hands through it often to get it out of his way. He was definitely a charmer type though.

It started with coffee that then led to a date. Then another. Then another. By the fourth date I accepted being his booty call. But he never treated me like that. We got into a routine soon after where he would come to my place and stay the night or he'd invite me over to his room at the clubhouse. I had been accepted fairly well into the club atmosphere. I had read my fair share of MC books and heard the horror stories of how outsiders were treated, but the Steel Riders were good to me. Even some of the bunnies were nice to me. Yes, one or two did try to put a wedge between me and Ryder in the beginning, but he shut that down right in front of me. I was shocked. I think that was why I was surprised we were this far on and he had never even mentioned making me his 'ole lady.

I was going to bring up the topic tonight and see what he had to say. Would it make or break our relationship? I didn't know. It would depend on what his explanation was if he didn't want me to be his 'ole lady. I was keeping my mind open to a relationship with Ryder without becoming his 'ole lady, but that would mean we would need to have an understanding. Up to this point he had made it clear we were exclusive so I never had to worry about him stepping outside whatever we had with an other woman. Would this conversation change that? I would have to wait and see.

.....

I heard his bike approaching on time. He was always good about timing. Its one of the things I loved about him. He was prompt, generally predictable, and committed. Another reason why I didn't understand where our relationship was going, if anywhere.

I had the table set for dinner, and figured I would have the conversation after dinner. Why ruin a good meal if it turned the conversation in the wrong direction?

Ryder walked in like he owned the place, like he had been doing for the last six months. Yes, he had a key to my place. He came charging up to me like he usually did and pecked me aggressively on the cheek.

"Missed you, babe. It's been a day."

My heart sunk. Would I have to put this talk off for another time? I brushed it off and decided no, I would bring it up. Then if we needed to table the talk for another time, we could do that.

He went to the fridge and grabbed a grape soda. I stocked them just for him. I used to tease him about his soda choices. He liked grape the most and orange second. I wasn't a fan of the flavored drinks. That didn't mean I wouldn't drink one occasionally. But my favorites were Pepsi and Dr. Pepper.

"Oh? What happened?"

He groaned. "Been driving all day. Might have to go on another drive in a couple of days for Prez."

I laughed softly. "You? Complaining about riding? The one called Ryder?"

He glared at me then winked. "Even I need a break sometimes from riding."

Ryder had told me before that the reason he had the name Ryder was because anytime the club needed riders for a job, he was always quick to volunteer. He loved being on his bike. He said it made him feel both free and more in control.

We ate and chatted for a bit about simple topics like who my cousin was chasing this week, or what events were coming up at the club soon. I came to most of them, and Reina would try to weasel her way in to an invite so she could tag a brother in bed. She really was a free bird, I swear.

After cleaning up the dishes, I joined Ryder on my couch where he was multitasking with watching a soccer game (he loved watching the Mexican version better, him and his futbol) and texting on his phone. Maybe this is the best time to ask, when he seemed distracted.

"Ummm......so.......I wanted to talk to you about something."

Without looking up from his phone, he hummed. "Hmmm."

"So, we've been together for over a year now....."

"Uh-huh."

"Where do you feel like this relationship is going?"

Was that the right way to put it? I felt anxious, and my chest felt tight. What if he said we were just casual and nothing more? We never really talked about what we were doing. We were just living it. But after spending so much time with Kaia, I was starting to get anxious about where the relationship would end up. Were we together or were we not? Did we have a future together? Was it time to break this off if it wasn't something more serious to him? My anxiety was ramping up something fierce, and I had a lump in my throat.

He stopped typing, still looking at his phone for a moment, then turned and looked at me. I could see his jaw ticking. Okay, not the best sign, but let's see where this goes.

"I think it's going where it is." His eyes narrowed at me.

I frowned at him. "What does that mean?" I thought I sounded defensive, which I guess I was, so I quickly added, changing my tone to lighter. "For you, I mean."

He looked at me, seriously for a few minutes, scaring out of me. "I like where we are at right now."

Okay. He didn't say he would never make me his 'ole lady. Right?

"Well, when would I be able to get to ride with you?"

His whole expression tensed up. "What do you mean, ride with me?"

"I mean with you on the back of your bike. Like some of the other ladies get to do with the brothers."

Suddenly, his head jerked back and he started laughing roughly. Again, he was scaring me. It wasn't a funny laugh. It was more of a 'you are crazy' laugh.

"That ain't gonna happen."

I could feel my skin crawl. Okay. That sounded a lot more definite.

In a whisper, I croaked out, "Why not?"

He looked at me like I was stupid. "There ain't ever gonna be a fuckin' woman on the back of my bike again."

I felt like he had just slapped me on the face. He was never planning to let me ride with him? So basically that meant I would never be his 'ole lady? It took me a minute to really catch what he just said.

Still in a croaky whisper, "Wait. What do you mean 'again'?"

He shot to his feet and glared down at me. "That's none of your fuckin' business!"

He started striding towards my front door when I shot up too. "What do you mean that isn't my business? Do you mean you had another woman on the back of your bike? Did you have an 'ole lady and never told me?" I was starting to get hysterical. I mean really, that was something I deserved to know. Right? Right!

"Like I said, none of your fuckin' business. And since you wanted to get all serious and screw, we're done." He yanked my door open, stormed through it, and slammed it close.

Yes, it looked like we were done.

......

One week after the breakup, I'm deeply depressed.

I hadn't been sure if I really wanted to come to the BBQ with Kaia. She was relentless, so I caved. But I would soon regret it. I waited until I got there to speak with her, in person. I needed her to know what happened, so I could get it off my chest. The brothers welcomed me in, which I thought was odd, but maybe they didn't know yet we had broken up.

Once I told Kaia, she wanted to beat his butt. I had laughed at that, knowing that was why I hadn't told her yet. I told her I didn't want the drama. She relented. For now.

I had been there all of about an hour, trying to avoid Ryder all evening. I didn't want him to think I was here for him. Even though I did miss him. That's the horrible thing about thinking a man is the one. You don't just "get over it" or "move on." You have to sit with it. It has to become real. And it soon became as real as it could get.

I figured Ryder had been with some of the bunnies before we were together. But I never felt the need to know about it. You know that whole, "out of sight, out of mind" thing. And I appreciated that he never spoke about his past experiences to that level. Although, in hindsight I wish I had dug a little deeper, then I would have found out about the "other woman." Or maybe not. Maybe he had no intentions of ever telling me about the one he had chosen.

I was standing with Kaia, chitchatting when I saw it. It was hard not too. Ryder was across the room and what initially caught my attention was Sapphire. They called her Saphie, and she looked like a Barbie doll on steroids. Her hair was bleached blond, always in a high ponytail, with enough makeup to start a war. Ryder had once joked she looked like she was wearing warpaint. And yet here he was with his filthy hands on her. I wanted to gag. I think I might have made a noise or something because Kaia looked at me and said, "Ellie, what's wrong?"

All I could do was stare. I could feel her turn to look where I was looking, and she muttered out, "Now, can I beat his butt?"

I felt a pain in my chest. How long did he even bother to wait until we were broken up to chase a bunny? And not just any bunny, the trashiest one of them all? I felt sick to my stomach. I had one rule. If he ever touched a bunny, I would never want to be with him again. He had brushed it off and said, "That would never happen." Liar!

I was frozen in place when he began to gaze around the room, until his eyes landed on me. His face morphed into different emotions in a rapid succession until it ended with shock. I turned to Kaia and said, "I can't stay here and watch this." I turned to leave when I heard Ryder say, angrily, "What she doing here?"

This had been a horribly bad idea. I had nothing but disgust and anger for him. Well, and pain. I had loved that man, and now he was chasing trash only two weeks later. If not sooner.